A well-known example of a connector for a strip or sheet-like electrically conductive path is disclosed in the Laid-Open Publication Tokkaihei 8-279378. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 of this specification, a ribbon cable connector is provided with a plurality of terminals a housed in a parallel manner within a connector housing b, and a cover c which can be opened to a releasing position or closed to a pressing position with respect to the connector housing b. When the cover c is in the releasing position, a ribbon cable d can be inserted between the cover c and the terminal a. This ribbon cable d is clamped between the cover c and the terminal a when the cover c is closed to the pressing position, thus electrically connecting the ribbon cable d with terminal a. Locking members e and f are provided on the cover c and the housing b in order to retain the cover c in the pressing position.
It is desirable that the latching of the cover c is securely effected after the ribbon cable d has been connected, so that the connected state of the ribbon cable d can be maintained even if it is subjected to, for example, a pulling force. Before the ribbon cable d is connected, that is, while the housing b is being transported or while the housing b is being attached to a circuit board, it is customary for the cover c to be kept closed in the pressing position to facilitate handling. In order to connect the ribbon cable d, the cover d must be opened. However, there is the problem that if the locking of the cover c is secure, as mentioned above, it takes time to open the cover c, but if the operation of opening the cover c is given priority and the locking force of the cover c accordingly made weaker, the reliability of the connection is adversely affected.
The present invention has been developed after taking the above problem into consideration, and aims to provide connector for a sheet-like electrically conductive path in which the reliability of the connection is maintained, and in which a pressing member can easily be unlatched.